For a historical political compromise

Preamble:

The politico-institutional stalemate we are living comes from the original illegitimacy that plagued the establishment of the political system since the independence of Algeria. This stalemate doubles now with an acute moral crisis that poses a serious threat to the national unity, the territorial integrity and the future of the nation itself. unusually, this crisis has been aggravated by openly power struggles between different mafia clans of the military-financial oligarchy under the cover of politicians, allies and servants.

This military-financial oligarchy has stifled the fundamental, individual and public freedoms by putting itself over the sovereignty of the Algerian people and stubbornly refusing to submit to a popular legitimacy, the only alternative for the establishment of the democracy in our country. For its survival, this oligarchy opted for an alternation purely biased and a suicidal escape, after leading Algeria in the abyss of horror for a decade.

That is why we citizens resolutely appeal directly and publicly to all patriots of this country, men and women – of all generations, of all social status or conditions, of all political orientations without exclusion or restriction – in order to mobilize for a broad unifying movement for a real and a sincere opposition against the ruling regime. The aim of this mobilization is to put an end, by all legitimate and peaceful means to a regime leading to an irreversible stage of political decay and moral corruption, the existence of which seriously threatens the unity of the people, the country’s territorial integrity, the future of our children, and the sovereignty of the nation itself.

Our initiative is in line with the historical foundation of our state based on key historical documents.

I- Principles and References:

The general principles enunciated in the November 1, 1954 Declaration and the Soummam Platform are the main references guiding the action of our citizens’ movement in addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Based on the fundamental principles enunciated in these referenced documents, we intend to fight by all legitimate and peaceful means, against the illegitimate, corrupt and totalitarian regime until its end. This is a sine qua non condition for the establishment of the rule of law in our country where democracy, pluralism and political change won’t be empty slogans but a state with the rule of law genuinely derived from the sovereign will of the people, the source of all power and legitimacy.

We are calling on all citizens to be united on the following fundamental principles:

-The sanctity and inviolability of the sovereignty of the people, no institution of the state, whatever it is, can claim to be above this sovereignty;

– The equality before the law of all citizens, regardless of their status and rank in society;

– The sanctity of our civilization values coming from our history, which constitute the inseparable foundations of our Algerians ‘personality, namely: Islam, Amazigh, and Arabism; values that cannot be manipulated, either by the power, or by the opposition;

– Respect for human rights, that is to say, the sanctity of the physical integrity and dignity of the human person and the fundamental freedoms for citizens, individual and collective, and in particular freedom of conscience, of opinion and / or expression, and the right of association;

– Dismantlement of the political police under all its forms, in order to free the political field for transparency, and secondly, to redirect Intelligence and Security Services, both civilian and military, to their original institutional mission of intelligence and counter intelligence to protect the country and its national interests;

– The effective separation of powers, particularly the independence of the judiciary, the only way to ensure true justice, strong pillar for an authentic state of with citizen’s rights;

– Change of political power with free, honest and transparent elections (by universal ) ;

– Confirmation of the institutional republican status of the army in its role and mission of national defense and guarantor of the territorial integrity of the country and national independence under the authority and the control of the legitimate political power .

These are the major points of convergence, which might constitute a consensus for a political platform. These principles are consistent with the various citizens’ initiatives that have emerged in the country, and could provide a common foundation for the establishment of a Transition Period.

II – Transition Period:

The transitional period has two main objectives:

— 1) – the organization for the election of a Constituent Assembly within a specific time and a mutual agreement by all parties, under a clear signal of political openness and transparency for a true and sincere reconciliation of Algerians with themselves;

— 2) – the State representation vis-à-vis the outside world and the management of the current affairs of the country.

a) Interim bodies:

To ensure the transition two interim authorities will be put in place:

— A Presidential Council collectively in charge of powers generally conferred to Heads of State and composed of national personalities, known for having no ties or interests with the finishing regime;
—A Provisional Government composed of personalities known for their competence and integrity and covering all areas generally within governmental responsibilities.
Members of these interim bodies cannot be candidates at the next presidential election;
b) Ethical Charter of the Transition:

In addition to the institutional provisions, the Transition Period will be consigned in a Code of Ethics co-signed by all concerned parties and structured around three key points:

—the solemn commitment of all signatory parties to respect the principles outlined in the Political Compromise document;

— The solemn commitment of the military institution, to support and protect the process of democratic transition to a rule of law until the end.

— The solemn proclamation by all signatory parties to the Historical Political Compromise to refuse and reject, in any form whatsoever, any foreign interference in the internal affairs of our country.

We Algerian citizens, concerned by the gravity of the situation of our country and worried about the future, take responsibility for our people and history, decided to unite in a Congress for Change Democratic (CCD) to create popular dynamics for change and a genuine democratic transition to a rule of law and democratic freedoms.

We appeal to the heart and reason of all:

To our compatriots:

—To stop suffering, and to become agents of our own history and the masters of our own destiny. Algeria belongs to all Algerians, without exclusion or exception; no insurmountable barrier exits between Algerians, despite the hate speech from all sides, used in abundance in recent years by alarmists sowing division and discord;
— To unite and work together calmly and without exclusion, to establish a process for change for the rule of law and democratic freedoms; We call on all to rally, tapping into our patriotic resources, to contribute, each according to his means, to the resolution of the crisis that is undermining the foundations of our country.

To intellectuals:

— To be aware of the urgent need to learn to respect and talk to each other, and therefore accept ideological and political differences;
—To avoid the traps of dependence, marginalization or ideological communitarianism used as a political strategy by a corrupt and corrupting power, master in the art of manipulation and division, with all disastrous consequences as we know, pitting Islamists against Seculars, Arab-speaker against French-speaker, and Berberists against Baathists, nationalists against pro western, progressives and conservatives etc…
— To rally alongside other political forces to contribute to a successful transition that will finally lay the foundations for a fraternal Algeria reconciled with itself in a state of with the rule of law where everyone have its place.

To politicians:

— To favor from now on the use of dialogue and consultation and learning from a half-century of political failures and socio-cultural divisions, often orchestrated by the manipulations of the regime which has never ceased to counter the emergence of a credible opposition;
—To contribute fairly for the establishment of a true democracy in our country that reflects the real socio-political forces deeply rooted in our society and influenced with our cultural values; forces that have been systematically discarded with denials and lies to the benefit of entities created artificially by agents of the illegitimate regime, which have distorted and destroyed the political and social life in our country;
—To break with the strategies of the regime, seeking to impose the terms and limits of political debate and exploiting violence as a means of regulating the political life, through plots and divisions of the society ; mafia type strategies that have discredit the political class as a whole in the views of citizens as well as at the international level; it becomes imperative for the components of the real opposition – Nationalists, Islamists, Social- democrats and other ideological groups – to accept each other by creating, channels for a permanent, respectful and constructive dialogue.

To officers of the National Army:

— To lift up the wounded dignity of the nation and the Algerian people, by saying “no” to this suicidal policy and participating actively alongside all avant-garde patriotic citizens, to resolve the crisis which threatens the very existence of our country,
— To recall that the Republican Military Institution, is not for the service or of an oligarchy or a clan, whatever they were, but at the exclusive service of Algeria, State and Nation; it must cease to be the source of power and refuse to be manipulated, by confining itself strictly within the framework of its mission and constitutional prerogatives;
— To become aware of its historical responsibility in supporting and protecting the process of establishing a rule of law which has become an essential and necessary moral imperative demanded by the Algerian people.

To all children of this country all generations included:

This will be the pride of all Algerian citizens of any conditions or social status to honor our patriotic duty by getting totally involved in the process of building an open and tolerant society, finally freed from the curse of injustice, strife and political violence and actively participating in this alternative approach that will lead to real change and a genuine rule of law, emanating from the sovereign will of the people.In Algiers, Saturday, 21st June 2014